Reflection: EDU6712-I-2

Throughout this course I have been introduced to many new ideas and ways to introduce technology to my students and integrate technology in my lessons. One startling revelation I had about the new literacy skills was from the article by Ian Jukes and Bruce Macdonald, “we are preparing students for jobs that don’t exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, to solve problems we haven’t begun to think about” (2007). This is startling to me because then the two authors go on to describe the attributes of the 21st Century learner. When I read through these and compared all of the attributes to my students I felt defeated and overwhelmed. A majority of my students can’t and may never be able to have the attributes as part of the educational background. This shocked me because I know that the characteristics of literacy have changed but I didn’t realize that my students were so far behind.

With this new knowledge I have been able to modify lessons to include more of the new literacy skills for my students. I plan on updating and revising several of my units to include more of these literacy skills so my students may obtain more of the knowledge they will need in their future careers.

Making these modifications is part of my professional growth plan for next school year. I will be having a Smart Board installed in my classroom for the next school year and I want to be able to integrate the technology so my students are able to make connections with one another, other classes, experts in different fields, and other teachers as Dr. Warlick described. (Laureate 2009) I have already started working toward this goal with the blog I have started in one of my classes. My students are now able to communicate with other students via the internet. They are thoroughly enjoying this communication with students from a different state. I hope these modifications to my teaching will help my students be successful in the future.

Reference:
Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Located at http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.